All news with #backdoor found tag

Full PowerShell RAT Campaign Targets Israeli Organizations

🔒 The FortiMail Workspace Security team uncovered a targeted intrusion campaign that abused compromised internal email to deliver a multi-stage, fully PowerShell-based Remote Access Trojan targeting Israeli organizations. Phishing links redirected users to a spoofed Microsoft Teams page that instructed victims to press Windows+R, paste an obfuscated Base64 loader, and execute a PowerShell IEX fetch from a hard-coded C2 (hxxps[:]//pharmacynod[.]com), which in turn staged scripts and a compressed, in-memory RAT. The operation uses layered obfuscation, native Windows APIs, and living-off-the-land techniques to enable remote access, surveillance, persistence, lateral movement, and data exfiltration; Fortinet protections detect and block this activity.

ReVault: Deep Analysis of Dell ControlVault3 Firmware

🔒 This deep-dive by Philippe Laulheret (Talos) dissects Dell's ControlVault3 ecosystem, exposing firmware decryption, memory-corruption flaws, and exploit chains that cross the device/host boundary. The researchers recovered hardcoded keys, reverse-engineered the SCD/SMAU update mechanism, and achieved arbitrary code execution in firmware, enabling persistence and a demonstrated Windows Hello bypass. Practical attacks include forging SCD blobs, backdooring firmware to escalate to SYSTEM, and physically extracting the USH board over USB for rapid compromise.

Project AK47 Linked to SharePoint ToolShell Exploits

🔍Unit 42 links a modular malware suite dubbed Project AK47 to SharePoint exploitation activity observed alongside Microsoft’s ToolShell reporting. The toolset includes a dual-protocol backdoor (AK47C2 with dnsclient and httpclient), a ransomware family (AK47 / X2ANYLOCK), and DLL side‑loading loaders. Analysts found high-confidence overlaps with Microsoft’s Storm-2603 indicators, evidence of LockBit 3.0 artifacts in an evidence archive, and a matching Tox ID on a Warlock leak site. Recommended actions include applying patches for the referenced SharePoint CVEs and enabling updated protections from endpoint, URL, and DNS defenses.

ToolShell SharePoint Zero-Days Exploited in the Wild

🔒 Microsoft and ESET reported active exploitation of a SharePoint Server vulnerability cluster called ToolShell, comprising CVE-2025-53770 (remote code execution) and CVE-2025-53771 (server spoofing). Attacks began on July 17, 2025, and target on-prem SharePoint Subscription Edition, SharePoint 2019 and SharePoint 2016; SharePoint Online is not affected. Operators deployed webshells — notably spinstall0.aspx (detected as MSIL/Webshell.JS) and several ghostfile*.aspx samples — to bypass MFA/SSO, exfiltrate data and move laterally across integrated Microsoft services. Microsoft and ESET confirmed patches were released on July 22, and ESET published IoCs and telemetry to assist defenders.

Unmasking AsyncRAT: Mapping Forks and Variants in the Wild

🛡️ ESET Research reviews the sprawling ecosystem of AsyncRAT, an open-source C# remote access trojan first published in 2019, and the many forks that have proliferated since. The post maps major families—most notably DcRat and VenomRAT—and outlines rapid identification techniques based on client configuration, embedded certificates, and behavior. It highlights uncommon plugins (USB spreaders, screamers, clipboard clippers, distributed brute modules) and stresses evolving obfuscation and evasion tactics.

ESET APT Activity Report - Q4 2024 to Q1 2025 Overview

🔍 The latest ESET APT Activity report and podcast episode summarize intrusion activity observed across Q4 2024–Q1 2025, highlighting persistent and evolving adversary techniques. ESET researchers spotlight China-aligned actors such as UnsolicitedBooker, which repeatedly targeted the same organization with the MarsSnake backdoor, and tool-sharing trends centered on groups like Worok. The report also covers Russia-aligned operations — Sednit’s expanded Operation RoundPress against webmail platforms, ongoing Gamaredon obfuscation in Ukraine, and Sandworm’s use of the ZEROLOT wiper — plus activity from other regional actors that complicate attribution and detection.

Fake Reservation Links Target Travel and Hospitality Industry

✈️ A longtime threat group tracked as TA558 has resumed phishing campaigns that spoof hotel or reservation notices to lure travelers into downloading malware. Campaigns increasingly deliver ISO and RAR container files via URLs that, when decompressed, execute batch scripts and PowerShell helpers to fetch RATs such as AsyncRAT. TA558 has shifted from macro-laden Office documents to containerized attachments after Microsoft limited macros. Travel organizations and customers should be wary of unexpected reservation emails and avoid opening unknown archives.